


Second Chances

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic 2018 [54]
Category: The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn Kenny
Genre: Family Dynamics, Gay Male Character, Horses, M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 12:44:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15949607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: LJ Comment Fic for Bookishly prompt:Trixie Belden Mysteries, Bill Regan+Dan Mangan/Mart Belden, What does Regan think of his nephew's sexuality/choice of a partner?In which Bill finds out his nephew has a new boyfriend.





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vanillafluffy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillafluffy/gifts).



“Nice and easy. You don’t want to startle her.”

“Like this?” Lucas asked, hesitantly approaching the horse.

“You’re doing great, kid,” Bill said. 

He kept a close eye on Lucas and a closer eye on Applesauce. She was one of their calmest mares, but even a horse could have a bad day.

Lucas touched Applesauce, his hand splayed on her neck, and turned a beaming smile at Bill. “She likes me, Regan!” His childlike joy was at odds with the gang tattoos on his hands and neck.

“Why wouldn’t she?”

It was a good step for Lucas. He was a skittish, nervous kid who needed a boost of confidence. That had been Bill’s impetus to start Brand New Day, so that at-risk and disadvantaged kids could get the second chance he had, with horses as the doorway into a wider, more emotionally fulfilling world.

“The cool thing about horses,” Bill explained. “Is that they don’t carry any judgement. Applesauce doesn’t care about any of the things that brought you here, not the mistakes or the bad decisions or any of the things you had no control over. She only cares about this moment and the decisions you make right now.”

“Can I give her the carrot?” Lucas asked.

Bill showed him how to hold it in his hand to protect his fingers. Applesauce plucked it delicately off Lucas’ palm and butted him gently with her head while she ate it. All in all, a great first step for Lucas.

Bill’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to see who was trying to call but it was only a text from Trixie. He’d check it later.

“Come on, pal,” he said. “Chow time.”

“See you later, Applesauce,” Lucas called over his shoulder as they walked out of the paddock.

*o*o*o*

It wasn’t until the kids had bunked down for the night that Bill had a chance to read Trixie’s message. He sat on his bed and unlocked his phone.

_Look who we ran into out at the ranch!_

She’d attached a selfie of herself, her boyfriend Jupiter, Mart, and Danny, the four of them grinning at the camera. Bill couldn’t help grinning himself. Danny had come a long way from the scared, standoffish kid that he’d pulled of out a gang and brought to Sleepyside, not that Bill could really take any credit for his nephew’s turnaround. He hadn’t been very gracious about taking responsibility for Danny, hadn’t given him the benefit of the doubt or any real support. It had been thanks to the Bob-Whites and Mr. Maypenny that Danny had been able to make a real go of his life. 

Bill checked the time and, on a whim, placed a call.

_Uncle Bill? Everything okay?_

“You’re a little young to answer the phone that way, aren’t you?”

_Hazard of the job, I guess._

It was incredible, the change in Danny in the intervening years. Once out of the gang, and out of the city, he’d thrived. Most surprising of all, he’d decided to become a cop. Bill had been so proud of him, had shouted himself hoarse at Danny’s graduation from the Academy.

“Speaking of, how’s the new job going? Any trouble?”

‘Any trouble’ was a kind of code between them. Before Danny had come out publicly, he’d come out to Bill. And, regretfully, Bill hadn’t reacted in the most positive way. Not that he was homophobic or anything like that, but an openly gay cop? That seemed like asking for trouble, and he’d been worried about Danny’s safety. They’d worked through it eventually, but that didn’t stop Bill from worrying. Small town cop or city cop, there was no shortage of bigots.

_Everything’s going really well_ , Danny replied. _The people here are nice._

_Oh, Danny Boy_ , someone sang in the background. _My pipes, my pipes are caa-all-ing!_

Bill’s eyebrows went up. He hadn’t realized his nephew was seeing someone.

_Hey, knock it off. I’m talking to my uncle._

There was a choking sound. _Regan’s on the phone? Oh, no. Oh, I’m a dead man. Deceased, departed, no longer of this –_

The rest of the words were lost, muffled, and Bill imagined Danny clapping his hand to the other guy’s mouth. Not just any guy, either. Bill would know that nervous rambling anywhere, though the gay thing was news to him.

“That something new?” Bill asked.

_Fairly. You got a problem with it?_ Danny’s tone was mild, but Bill heard the challenge in it just the same.

_Did_ he have a problem? Mart Belden had a tendency to run off at the mouth, and he could be cocky, but he had a good heart. He was a good horseman and a good person, and if that’s who Danny wanted to be with he had no objection.

“Are you happy?” Bill countered.

_Yeah. I really am. He’s pretty good in the sack, too._

_Oh my god! You’re literally trying to get us murdered!_

Bill grimaced. “Too much information, kid.”

_Sorry, old man._

A little joke between them. Bill and Danny had less than a decade separating them in age, but there was still an emotional distance between them that Bill couldn’t figure out how to surmount. 

“I’m glad things are going well for you. Both of you.”

_How’s things at Brand New Day?_ Danny asked, deftly changing the subject.

Bill shared some anecdotes about the camp, and Danny promised to call again soon. Maybe someday Danny would call him when he had good news to share, instead of leaving his uncle to find it out on his own. Maybe someday he’d give Bill a second chance at being the family he should’ve been all those years ago.

“Tell Mart he’d better sleep with one eye open,” Bill said jokingly.

_If he didn’t know how much you love them, I think he’d expect to wake up with a horse’s head in his bed like in that movie._

Bill could hear Mart sputtering in the background. “Take care of yourself, kid.”

_You too, Uncle Bill._

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** For vanillafluffy on her birthday. (Almost made it on time!) Thank you for the prompt, and for all the amazing Trixie/Jupe and Mart/Ben fics you’ve been writing for me! I hope you had a good birthday!


End file.
